The Terrible Tempered Mr. BANG

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

St. Thomas Episcopal Church on 5th avenue in New York has long been known for its' spectacular choir of Men and Boys in the English cathedral tradition. I had the privilege myself, as a student to be a member of that choir under the redoubtable leadership of the great Gerre Hancock.

Still available is last Sunday's liturgical presentation of Faure's Requiem in the context of an actual liturgican requiem service, something I have never heard done before. Since they only archive services for 7 days, it won't last long. Don't miss this!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Ok, you lefties - you are not the only ones gloating! Did you really think your cowardly appeasement would win you favor with these animals?

Al Qaeda gloats over RumsfeldFri Nov 10, 2006 12:21 PM ET

By Claudia Parsons

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A purported audio recording by the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda wing gloated over the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as a top U.S. general said the military was preparing to recommend strategy changes.

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, said in the recording posted on the Internet on Friday that the group had 12,000 armed fighters and 10,000 others waiting to be equipped to fight U.S. troops in Iraq.

"I tell the lame duck (U.S. administration) do not rush to escape as did your defense minister...stay on the battle ground," he said.

He said his group would not rest until it had blown up the presidential mansion in Washington.

"I swear by God we shall not rest from jihad until we...blow up the filthiest house known as the White House," the voice on the recording said.

Instead of gloating you should be hanging your heads in shame for the betrayal of your country.

Well, Dirk I am sure that the justified chastisement of the conservatives will embolden the fringier types like you. And that is all to the good! Boring Episcopalians like me are seldom as good for comic relief as the leftist fringe! By all means, let it all hang out! PLEASE pull your party closer to the brink of craziness from whence the republicans drew us under Reagan the great. By the time the next election rolls around the republicans will have figured out what they did wrong. Till, then, ENJOY THIS! But don't delude yourself that this legitimate victory is due to the loonies of the left. Your party moved to the middle. Good for the country! I am not so sure is good for you fringies.

Since I am primarily dedicated to truth, justice and the american way, I am compelled to give credit where credit is due: Howard Dean was crazy like a fox. This article in Salon is a must read for conservatives who want to know "WHA HAPPENED?" I don't agree with all the conclusions, but the article is important.

Call me some kind of sick nut case, but I can't get enough of "Borat". What a genius! For the laced up Episcopalian in me it has to be seen as a kind of guilty pleasure, but you have to recognize greatness when you see it.

This article in "Salon" (another of my guilty pleasures!) is about what is real and what is not in the movie. Caution: contains plot info - SEE THE MOVIE FIRST!

I saw Nancy Pelosi recently on CNN, and if she keeps the tone she displayed with Wolf Blitzer things might just work out. However, the problem is that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and if she reverts to form the demos will be out on their keister again in 2008.

The good news for me is that the democrat party took a pretty big shift to the right with their freshman class, and that is all to the good. In my hierarchy of values I am a Christian first, a patriot second, a conservative third and a republican fourth. I may seen like a republican partisan, but I am more a conservative partisan. I was and am disgusted with the republican party, but even more disgusted with the democrats. For me, it was not good or bad choices, but bad or worse. It is my sincere hope that my worst expectations are NOT realized with the donkeys in power. I want to see that happen which is good for the country as a whole, now and in the future. The republicans deserved to lose; we will now be able to see if the democrats deserve their win.

You might expect me to have been rather disatisfied with the results of the election, and you would be partially right. I hated to see the likes of Pelosi and Barney Frank win, despite the obvious entertainment value. But my disgust with the current lot of Republicans runs almost as deep.

However, the reality is that a perfect political storm made a republican recovery almost impossible. It almost seems like a vengeful God decided that the Elephants needed a huge kick upside the head, because it seems the HE, in His infinite wisdom never even allowed the poor idiots off the mat. A few examples:

Delay. Remember Delay? The Bug Man from Texas with the polyester hair and excrement eating grin? WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS WONDERFUL WERE YOU GRINNING ABOUT? DEMOCRATS are the party that sees political office as a milchcow to be exploited while the republicans, who are supposed to be the adults in this sandbox do the unglamorous work of actually creating the wealth that the democrats seek to exploit! Pope Leo famously said "Now that we have attained the papacy, let us enjoy it" I don't know about Delay's religion, but as a political credo it fits like a glove.

And Katrina? Talk about an act of God! Never mind that it is a democrat city, in a democrat state in a region that is just a whisker removed from being a Latin American country! Bush never mastered that moist-eyed, Clintonian, lip-quivering insincerity, and since he did not solve the entire problem in 15 minutes he sucks.

And Rove. The man is simply ugly! What more do you need to say?

The republicans got what they deserved. We are the party that is supposed to be about fiscal and individual responsibility, and we were none of the above. We got what we deserved.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Let introduce myself.

I am that rarest of all creatures, an Episcopalian with an attitude. Moderation is not really in my nature, and I don't care who knows it.

I grew up in New Providence, NJ, a small commuter town that I thought was boring but now regard as a rather idyllic place to have grown up in. I lived also during the summers at Green Pond, a beautiful lake nestled between two small mountains surrounded by my family. I had a great childhood!

So where did I go so wrong? An artistic temperament was my undoing. Instead of getting a real education I studied opera and sang my heart out in the US and Europe before losing my voice due to illness at the age of 30 and not doing much since.

Hence my bad attitude. I pretty much hate the modern world, with the exception of modern medicine and some conveniences such as the internet, CD's and indoor plumbing. Like Evelyn Waugh I have never quite adapted to the modern world and feel out of place in it. I wish most of it would just go away. I want the 1928 Book of Common Prayer back so much I can taste it.

About Me

I am a retired Opera Singer with a wife, two adult children and two and one half dogs. (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Rat Terrier and one half of a miniature Dachshund.) I fear God, cancer and the IRS in that order (pace Bill Parcells) I grew up in northern New Jersey, (hence my ill temper) but love the south because the people are nice to me.